"Brian T. Schellenberger" wrote:
>
> I suppose that I have an expectation that I shouldn't have to go to the
> net to get documentation on new features in the distribution.
>
> In my case it would seem that I got a bad copy of Mandrake 'cause I
> only seem to have two disks though the package looks like it's meant to
> hold three of 'em. (I got the Macmillan package.)
>
> I must say as well that I've been unimpressed by the lack of response
> to my "cooker" missive regarding installation issues and I will
> probably leave the Mandrake fold once Caldera comes out with their next
> distribution. They seem to spend a bit more time smoothing out the
> rough edges.
>
> (And they happen to include most of the packages *I* happen to want,
> though nowhere near the variety that Mandrake does. They simplify the
> task of installation by just flat-out choosing KDE and not giving as
> many options. Which is ok with me since I happen to like their
> options. It would presumably not satisfy most Mandrake users, however.)
>
> I will probably re-post my "issues" mail, broken up into pieces and
> cross-posted to the lists, though, just to see if there's any consensus
> on these issues that might motivate Mandrake to solve them or at least
> to respond . . .
>
> | Sign the petition at http://www.libranet.com/petition.html
> | Help bring us more Linux Drivers
> --
> I am "Brian, the man from babble-on" (Brian T. Schellenberger).
> I can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
> I support http://www.eff.org & http://www.programming-freedom.org .
> I boycott amazon.com. See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/amazon.html .
I haven't seen much to impress in Caldera as far as smoothing
rough edges. I install a LOT of linux systems, and Caldera is
smooth only to the point of where you have hardware it isn't
preprogrammed for. Then the tools are inadequate, the
documentation doesn't match the performance and the telephone
support can't pull up its own socks. The supposedly prepaid
email support has never once responded to a registered inquiry in
my experience, which encompasses 6 systems, 2 with 2.2 and 4
hopefuls (wishful thinking) with 2.3.
Tis a fine thing that they include StarOffice in their distro
because it is annoying to try to install Sun's edition there.
The number of symlinks you have to make to get the error messages
to go away is, I suppose, manageable in a script file once you
discover them all, but why bother?
These are self-help lists, and the presence of Mandrakesoft
personnel here is NOT obligatory on their part. In other words,
after his 14-hour day, the Mandrake programmer might skim the 200
or so emails on the various lists and respond to something that
catches the eye, but then their status is another expert trying
to help someone for basically altruistic reasons. Response to
"issues" in the software usually should be expectable from the
email support address for that purpose when you send email with
your registration number.
Moreover, some of the issues on install have a solution
unpalatable to the folks who are at the helm for this distro.
They involve returning to 386 code because a number of
manufacturers have been cutting corners they should not have cut
in little things like drive timing. The result is that the 586
code linuxes and the 686 code linuxes and even the 486 code
linuxes are evoking these problems. Notable is the timing of the
Western Digital IDE drive and the Seagate IDE Ultra-DMA drives.
A slow WD master and a fast Maxtor slave will destroy each
other's data with timing chatter, for example. Seagates are the
source of many of the "lost interrupt" signals you see. And this
happens with the Stampede distros as well. It is a HARDWARE
problem. This distro is one of those that is pointing to it, and
I would expect you will see disk drive manufacturers and other
hardware manufacturers flock to the banner of compliance with
standards to preserve their sales in the near future.
But if for your needs you are satisfied with a 386-code linux,
Caldera is the least likely to cause you complaint, even though
they will fall well below your obviously high standards for
answering issues and offering documentation.
Civileme
--
experimentation involving more than 500 trials with an
ordinary slice of bread and a tablespoon of peanut butter
has determined that the probability a random toss will
land sticky side down (SSD) is approximately .98
